WITH the alarming increase of social crimes like rape, molestation, sexual assault, and adultery, Bangladesh has also become a haven for documenting child pornography. The country’s social structure has already been destabilized internally by the global cultural aggression through a reckless internet network and television channels. Many Bangladeshi children, in 9-15 years age bracket, have been victimized by the child pornography makers and our intelligence agencies could hardly book the perpetrators for unavailability of information. Expressing our grave concern, we ask the government to protect the next generation from being sexually victimized in any form anywhere and ban or block pornographic websites to uphold our social values.
Referring to an intelligence source, a national daily reported that at least 500 children, mostly urchins and street children, have been forced to work for porn-videos produced for porn-addicts of Western countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, France and Norway. The business has flared-up during last six years. A local gang, led by a literary figure, used to produce the video clips abusing the helpless economic distress and innocence of the street children. Being informed by Interpol, CID arrested the kingpin with his three cohorts last June but is yet to unearth their transaction methods and volumes.
Using the poor kids for child pornography can have devastating physical, social, and psychological effects on the victims. The children portrayed in child pornography are first victimized when their abuse is perpetrated and recorded, and again each time it intensifies. According to a study of University of Albany, victims described the physical pain, accompanying somatic symptoms such as headaches, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness, and feelings of psychological distress-emotional isolation, anxiety, and fear. In later years, the victims could not come out of the initial feelings of shame and anxiety but the feelings intensified to feelings of deep despair, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Their experience had provided them with a distorted model of sexuality, and many had particular difficulties in establishing and maintaining healthy emotional and sexual relationships.
Availability of internet in the country has opened the windows of pornographic websites to the teenagers. Addiction to porn-sites provokes the youths to commit sexual crimes, and such crimes are increasing in geometric progression. According to American Psychological Association, porn-addict teens are likely to view sex as a purely physical function and to view women as sex objects. Spreading out, the germs of pornographic addiction in the value-based Bangladesh society is swiftly destroying our social and religious values which in turn is contributing to family breakups as well as creating behavioral disorders in victims. To prevent rape-like sexual crimes, the government ought to ban the access into the adult websites available now by using any network. The internet providers and mobile phone companies also should not escape their responsibilities in this regard.
We have formed and ratified many laws to protect children rights, and our institutions give the protection to every citizen regardless of creed, colour, race, sex from being assaulted in any means. Are not the urchins and street children subject to the constitutional protection? If not, how does the government remain indifferent to them? These poor children should be saved from such cruel perpetrators.
